


Collecting Kisses

by dearxalchemist



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, answered prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 03:30:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6937915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearxalchemist/pseuds/dearxalchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There’s a hushed chuckle behind her and Gaby contemplates rolling over and drawing Illya back into bed. She thinks of linking her fingers with his and begging for just five more minutes of sleep."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A collection of answered prompts from a kissing meme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Kiss On The Back

Gaby is so warm she doesn’t want to get out of bed. Not even when the alarm goes off for the second time and Illya is nudging her bare shoulder. After a moment or two she simply moans and buries her head down into the plush pillow of the warm bed. Her hair is fanned out on the pillow all around her and her arms are stuffed under it. After a few minutes there is the sound of rustling behind her and before she knows it, the blinds are being open.

Sunshine floods over her, warms her exposed shoulders and even the bottom of her foot that is poking out from under the covers. Gaby whined sleepily, drawing her legs under the duvet, rubbing her nose further into the pillow. There’s a hushed chuckle behind her and Gaby contemplates rolling over and drawing Illya back into bed. She thinks of linking her fingers with his and begging for just five more minutes of sleep. She doesn’t though. Instead she settles for hiding herself under the thick duvet and burying her face under the pillow. A yawn pulls at her lips and sleep calls at her again. The covers are pulled away from her slowly, peeled away like the skin of an orange, exposing her tan skin to the hotel room. After a minute or so she can feel the edge of his calloused finger tracing along her calf. His finger moves up and his palm settles onto the back of her thigh before he pulls the rest of the duvet away. Gaby groans loudly into the pillow. Exhaustion is etched into her bones, her mouth is dry and head is fuzzy. She drank a lot the night before, celebrated a little too hard and now, now she was trying to sleep it off.

Illya pulls the rest of the covers back and she feels her skin prickle in a sense of anticipation. Sleepily she knows he’s there, she knows he’s trying to pull her from sleep easily. If he wanted to, the Russian man could easily lift her and drop her into the shower. Only for now he settles for a hand on the back of her thigh and then she feels the mattress dip. He crawls over her, the heat of his form sinks down into her skin and she smiles into the pillow when his lips press a soft kiss onto the small of her back.

A shiver races up her spine and she rolls over lazily under his attention, “Alright, I’m awake.”


	2. A Kiss Goodbye

Gaby’s nerves are at it again. Her stomach is swimming into knots and she feels seasick. Her knees wobble and her hands shake slightly as she plays with the ring on her left finger. Illya has finally taken away the fake little ring and after two years on a team and a year of stealing kisses, he gives her a real one. The pearl is long gone, it’s now a small modest diamond. One that Napoleon insists on making better with his thieving fingers, but Gaby will have no part of it. She likes Illya’s ring and the weight of it on her hand as she finishes off another flute of champagne. Her eyes meet his across the room and she smiles against the glass. It’s an involuntary action that happens every time she spots him. Her heart flutters and her lips split into a smile and Illya’s lips match her own.

A year on the team he finally opened up, two years on the team and he finally stopped treating her like a piece of fine china. There is no more faking their relationship, they’re engaged and tonight is the last night she gets to see him before his silly superstitions get in the way. He tells her it’s a tradition he would like to keep so Gaby lets him. Their rehearsal dinner is thrown together by Solo and Waverly, a few other agents show up, but mostly it’s a small gathering and now dwindling down as the clock chimes another hour closer to midnight.

Illya moves across the room. His suit is beautiful, well pressed and his tie matches her lilac dress. His hands move for her and he grabs gently onto her upper arms before sliding his hands down the bends of her elbows and pulls her free hand up to his mouth, kissing the back of her fingers.

“Solo is insisting we go now,” Illya’s voice is soft against her knuckles as she watches him. Her insides are all warm and soft and she practically melts against the front of his suit, leaning up on the tips of her toes.

“You are leaving me to an empty hotel room,” She murmurs, smiling a bit wider as she watches him lean in like he’s going to kiss her. When he gets close enough she sinks away, smirking at the look he gives her.

“Is only for short time.”

“It’s an eternity.” She practically whines out the words, sigh blowing from her lips as she looks around at the emptying dinner. Waverly is gone, a few other stragglers remain including Solo. Their American comrade lingers by the door, talking up a pretty waitress from the catering staff. Gaby cuts her gaze up to her fiance’s once more and she shrugs.

“Gaby,” He says her name softly and lets go of her hands. He moves his hands up behind her neck and sinks his fingers into her soft brown hair that has been left down for the evening. Gaby leans into him a little bit more, in love with the feel of him and then she spies Solo over his shoulder. Solo moves for them like a shark in water and Gaby knows her time with Illya is short, that the next time she sees him she will be in all white and behind a veil. After a moment or so she leans up to the tips of her toes and her mouths finds his. He leans into her, kissing her back softly. The world seems to melt away when she kisses Illya and Gaby forgets they’re spies, she forgets they are anything but in love and before she gets too comfortable it’s all over. Solo reaches them and Illya breaks away first.

“I will see you tomorrow.” He points at her, stopping to tap the end of her nose. He takes one last look at her, completely in love with his eyes sweeping down the edge of her lilac colored dress. 

Gaby grins softly and leans up, kissing the pad of his finger before Solo pulls him away, “Goodbye, until tomorrow.”


	3. An Underwater Kiss

Their ship is going down. Gaby’s feet are no longer touching the floor, she’s kicking to keep her head above the dark salty water. Her hair is plastered to her cheeks, lips turning blue and all she has is a grip on a metal grate that is stuck. The metal won’t give away and she’s trapped in the belly of the boat. Water splashes up around her throat and she lets out a strangled cry, both hands pulling on the grate as gunshots echo overhead.

Solo and Illya are no doubt saving the day and taking care of the enemy while Gaby fights for a few more minutes of air. The ship groans again and Gaby shrieks as the water splashes up past her cheeks. She’s pulling as hard as she can now on the metal, head tilted back as far as she can go. There are no other exits. Water floods her ears and she can barely make out the thick Russian accent of her comrade, he’s shouting to her. Or at least she thinks he is as his hands cover hers on the grate. The water is stinging at her eyes, ocean salt burning against her lungs as she swallows a mouthful of water accidentally. Everything is cold but Illya’s grip is warm and she thinks maybe, just maybe he’ll get her out of there, but then his hand is gone and the water is over her head.

The little mechanic’s grip slips and she barely gets a mouthful of air before the water completely submerges her.

Illya can’t think straight. He’s pulling hard on the metal grate just as the water floods over Gaby’s head and panic sets in. Solo is next to him in an instant and together they pull the grate up. Water floods over the deck and before Solo can make a comment of going in, Illya dives down. Everything is dark, the water is pitch black and ice cold. His hands search for her own and he finds the soft muscle of her upper arm. Tugging on her he pulls her up into the shreds of moonlight casting into the boat. Her eyes are closed and a few small bubbles escape her lips when he kisses her. It’s a kiss of desperation, one of promise – an oath that he’s going to get them out. It’s short and meaningless to her probably, but even in the ice cold water he can feel what little heat of her is left in that kiss.

He manages to get them both out. Solo pulls Gaby from his arms and while he hoists himself out, he watches the American preform CPR on the small woman. It only takes a few compressions before she’s coughing up salt water. Gaby’s lungs are screaming for air and her hands are up, searching and failing. She coughs up more water and rolls onto her side to spit it out just as he kneels next to her, pulling her up against him. She’s cold and he is cold, they’re both wet and the boat they’re on is sinking. Illya’s fingers tangle in her mess of wet hair and he doesn’t care that Solo is gone to find an escape raft, he only cares that the mechanic is breathing in his arms and her fingers are gripping on his upper arm, holding him to her.

“Illya,” Her voice is a hoarse whisper but Illya doesn’t let her speak. He just brushes his fingers across her wet bangs and quiets her down.


	4. A Steamy Kiss

She is laughing. Her dark head is tilted back and her lips are parted as she waves her hand high over her head, his cap secured between her fingers. She has stolen his favorite accessory, standing now on the balcony of their hotel room. The weather in Panama is beautiful and Illya decides right then and there that Gaby looks best in the golden glow of sunshine. Napoleon is gone, leaving just the two of them to enjoy lunch, where Gaby has already indulged in expensive bubbly. Her cheeks are a soft pink and she waves his cap again and all he can do is scowl, but his scowl doesn’t last long. He can’t be mad when she lays his hat on her head and tilts her head back. It’s too big for her of course, but something about her wearing his hat makes his heart skip a beat. His throat tightens a bit and he watches her lean back against the railing of the balcony. 

A soft breezes passes and she looks like something out of a dream, surrounded by warm light in a dress he’s picked out for her, wearing his hat. 

Another breeze passes and Gaby reaches a hand up, holding the hat over her head for a moment, grin widening when he stands. Illya’s shadow plays with hers as he crosses the distance and before she can run away, he clamps both hands on either side of her on the railing. Her lips turn into a feral smirk as she turns her head up to watch him. He keeps her trapped between the cage of his arms. If she really wanted to, Gaby could duck away and escape. However, something keeps her rooted to the spot, watching his brows furrow. He was thinking too hard on the situation, she could see the wheels in his head turning, spinning too fast and without letting him linger on the idea she moved both hands up to his turtle neck and gripped the black fabric. With a sharp tug she pulls him down and his mouth hit hers in a sort of clumsy manner.

Illya’s grip on the railing tightened as he leaned over her, feeling her lean further into him. The fabric of his turtleneck stretching with her weight as he moved his mouth over hers. There was no soft declaration of love, no feather-light touches, it was more like a dam breaking when he kissed her. He managed to let go of the railing, hands capturing the sides of her face. His palms pressing over her cheeks, fingers sliding up into her hair uncovered by his hat. His mouth burning against her own, kissing her like a starving man.

She had started it all, melting against the front of him, her fingers slowly uncurling against his sweater, palms smoothing down over the fabric, then pulling it up. The mechanic’s fingers sliding across the strip of exposed skin between his sweater and jeans, making him gasp against her mouth. Then as quickly as it had started, he was pulling back. His mouth hovering just a breath away from her own. His lips skimmed hers as he whispered something in his native tongue. When she didn’t answer him, he repeated in English for her. 

“Keep the hat on?” 

He pulled her closer and she laughed, one arm looping around his neck and the other holding the hat over her head as he lifted her up. Lunch laid out on the table long forgotten as he pulled her into the golden glow of the sunshine spilling across the hotel bed.


	5. A Kiss On The Neck

Gaby pulls on the edge of her dress. It feels too short for the mechanic and she pulls again. The dress is an inky black color with a wide white belt that is practically holding her together and Gaby feels her nerves free falling as she stares at herself in the mirror. Her hair has been pulled up, and her make-up has been expertly applied. Gaby resists the urge to reach up and wipe away the thick eyeliner when Illya moves into her line of sight. He’s wearing a dark suit and his golden hair is combed back perfectly. He looks impossibly handsome in the mirror behind her. For a moment they look like a real couple. In the mirror they look like they could be something normal, happy even. They don’t look like spies.

Gaby doesn’t want to turn around and lose the illusion. 

She doesn’t have to, because Illya moves a hand in front of her and then there’s something cold pressing over her throat. The mechanic backs up a half-step and her back presses into his chest. He strings a silver necklace across her collarbone and Gaby swallows hard, glancing up. Her brown eyes catch his blue ones in the reflection and he hooks the necklace in place, thumbs lingering against the back of her neck. They stand there for just a moment longer, the hotel room is warm and Gaby feels like her skin is catching fire when his fingers slip down the exposed pieces of her back where the dress doesn’t cover. 

“This looks expensive.” Gaby makes a motion towards the necklace and Illya’s lips turn up like he’s going to smile, but it’s gone as soon as his fingers pause at the small of her back. 

“Is just on loan,” Illya murmurs quietly and she reaches up and plays with the edge of the tear drop pendant. It’s a real pearl that matches her engagement ring, only the necklace is real. It’s not fake like the bug on her finger. Gaby leans back a little more, her back pressing closer to his chest and she hears him swallow hard. 

“I don’t like this mission Illya.” She finally admits, looking up at the glass once more. Her mission tonight requires a different set of skills. One that requires the short dress and expensive jewelry. He nods to her, not saying anything just yet. Instead he moves his hands back up and pushes hers away from the necklace around her throat. Gaby watches his reflection before she feels his mouth press over the soft spot of her throat. He kisses her pulse point and his lips linger there for a moment before he pulls away from her.

“I will be close by.” It’s all he says as a knock sounds on the door and Napoleon pokes his head in, the car is ready and the clock is ticking.

**Author's Note:**

> All of these were submitted / answered on tumblr @elektranatchiohs , for a "Kissing Meme"


End file.
